In a career that now stretches into its tenth professional year, Blackpool pugilist Brian “Lion” Rose has had the ups and downs that are all but guaranteed to come with such a span in the ring. Amassing a record of 26-3-1, he’s had his fair share of time in the sun as a dominant domestic champion. But he has struggled to convert that on to the world stage.
This past weekend he fought American Carson Jones in his seaside hometown for the vacant WBC International super welterweight title. The last time Rose was there he picked up a 12th round stoppage over Joachim Alcine to keep the locals happy. That set up a win over Alexey Ribchev, followed by his career defining decision victory over Javier Francisco Maciel. Coming in to this encounter, the North West man had stated that this was a real litmus test to ascertain whether he was really good enough to mix it with the elite.
“If I get beaten at this stage, then I am done,” suggested Rose ahead of the bout that took place at the Winter Gardens at the weekend. He cited his desire to leave behind the ‘British level’ that he’s operated at for so long, eyeing a successful and consistent upward trajectory. He had fought almost exclusively in the North of England and hadn’t set foot outside of the UK to compete until he met Demetrius Andrade, and that was what he saw as the point of no return in his career.
For some competitors it’s hard for their ego to take a step backwards. The reverse is also true of course. How many times have we seen legends of the sport go on far too long, taking losses to fighters that would never have come close in their prime?
After being emphatically beaten by Andrade for the WBO world title last year, the only thing it was definitive in showing was that the step up was too much. It looked very unlikely that a rematch would yield a different result, such was the comprehensive nature of the beating. Even Rose himself admitted that. He said that Andrade was too good and that he may never be able to come out on top, even if he performed at his best. There was no shame in defeat to the defending and still unbeaten champion. But it’s a bitter pill to swallow for any fighting man to simply admit he wasn’t good enough.
Like most boxers, though, or at least any who need to rationalise their future in the sport – he still had the faith in his ability to hold a genuine world title. However, getting there would have to mean choosing opponents wisely and not going after the WBO variant that the New Yorker had in his grasp.
“I can still be world champion,” he said, although it would have to come against “the right champion that suits my style”. That could have been true, but first he would need to be convincing in beating the man across the ring from him on Saturday night. There would be no second chances at that sought-after world title shot if he couldn’t get by Oklahoma’s Jones.
Coming in, Jones was 36-10-3 with 26 finishes on his resume. A solid opponent, one that took Kell Brook to the brink the first time they met – losing a majority decision but breaking Brook’s nose in the process. However, he’s not one of the best in the world. He is competent and a good test for anybody, but a gatekeeper. The betfair odds were short for the local man and, although some pundits thought he’d be tested, there were plenty predicting he’d walk away victorious with a second consecutive win to try and erase the bad memories from New York.
Rose’s pre-fight talk would leave him in quite the predicament. In front of the Blackpool faithful, he was stopped in the first round and his world title aspirations came crashing down around him. Rose started with intent, going well to the body and landing some sharp right hands that certainly got the visitor’s attention. It wouldn’t deter Jones, though, as he was adamant on upsetting the Rose homecoming. He gritted his teeth and began to fire back with venom at about 90 seconds. Local referee Ian John-Lewis became the main event instead of just the official as he stepped in to halt the contest at 2:36 while the loser was still on his feet.
In a time when there have been no shortage of controversial calls and stoppages, you might have assumed Rose would have been given the benefit of the doubt in front of the home crowd and given a chance to fight back. It wasn’t the case, though, as John-Lewis had seen enough and waved it off to some bemusement from the fighters, fans and media. There’s no doubt he was stung and some solid rights to the chin had him unsteady. But Jones had also been tagged earlier and visibly shaken and Rose was quite clear post-fight that he felt he had been hard done by.
Ian john Lewis needs to ref a non contact sport . Yes I was buzzed with a shot but so was he a minute before. joke. Never give me a chance
— Brian Rose (@Brian_Lion_Rose) February 14, 2015
“He didn’t give me a chance but he gave Jones a chance,” Rose asserted. “I had him going worse than he had me.” Of course there’s some of his own bias in there and the emotions will have been running extremely high, but given the situation you’d be hard pressed to find many that wouldn’t think there could have been life left in the matchup. Rose cited a pre-fight conversation with the referee who stressed that he’d let the fighters have a chance to work through bad situations. When push came to shove, or punch to chin, he wasn’t true to that word.
Rose’s trainer Bobby Rimmer said he was “flabbergasted” at the decision, and wasn’t sure what was happening when the referee started to intervene. History shows us that Rose has a fair amount of grit, a decent chin, and the ability to work through prolonged barrages. He even suggested that those tactics were the exact game plan, admitting to being hurt but looking to use Jones’ early outlays of energy to drain his reserves for the following rounds.
It’s a very risky game plan to utilise, especially against a visitor with as many finishes on his resume as Jones. It’s never a good idea to just soak up punishment and hope you’ll get your own opportunity down the line, but Rose isn’t the first fighter to try it and it has paid dividends for others in the past. In the current climate, however, when you know a referee is liable to step in at any point, it’s just not savvy. That point was proven.
For Rose, though, it adds a useful caveat to his pre-fight talk of retirement in defeat. Instead of hanging up the gloves, he is itching to lace them up again sooner than ever. No prize fighter likes to admit when they’ve reached their ceiling, but especially not under such dubious circumstances. He has found solace in what he feels was a premature stoppage and he’ll use that as a springboard to come back in search of a return fight.
He’s saying now that he ‘demands a rematch’. Though not everybody will agree it’s the wisest move, it allows the UK number-two another shot without people throwing his comments back in his face. He might not be top tier, but he will use the perceived injustice as an opportunity to have a second crack of the whip.
Jones will be able to empathise with the sometimes harsh taste of defeat. Against Kell Brook in their aforementioned first fight, he went to the wire in a very closely fought contest. He got the rematch and a chance to try and settle the score. It didn’t work out and Brook put in a much better performance to seal the deal with a stoppage in round eight, but at least he got closure. He will certainly be able to see the situation through Rose‘s eyes, and immediately after the win he did reveal that he would be open to doing it again.
There’s no reason for Jones not to cash in the rematch. There isn’t much at stake for him and if Rose and promoter Eddie Hearn only really have this lifeline to carry on with his career in any meaningful way then they‘ll have to pursue it. The American can demand more money and will no doubt hold out until the digits stack up. He can let them do the chasing and up the ante, and it’s unlikely that there’ll be bigger offers on the agenda for him any time soon.
Both men have felt each other out, albeit briefly. Before the fight Jones assured the press that he would show just how “basic” his adversary was. He obviously has the confidence. He managed to soak up some of Rose’s best shots and then cause significant damage with his own offense. There’ll be nothing but an even more exaggerated belief in his ability to do it again. Same fight, more confidence and more money. It’s hard to see just why Jones would turn that down.
For Hearn, whether the numbers will be right to get it done remains to be seen. That’s two stoppage losses in three for Rose and marketing an immediate rematch to a Blackpool crowd who would have been so underwhelmed this time around won’t be easy. Justifying it as a main event seems unlikely, so whether he can make it a feature fight on another card to mitigate the costs would appear to be the deal breaker.
Of course we never know what the exact thought processes are for the promoters, but if he believes there’s still enough in the rematch to draw the numbers then it will happen. The other options would either be Rose staying true to his talk of retirement if he couldn’t operate at the world level, or picking up another ‘gimme’ win to try and give him some leverage for a big fight. If the latter happens, he’ll hope the fans have short memories so his prior assertions don’t come back to haunt him.
Rose wouldn’t be alone in making bold statements in the pre-fight build up and then not following through. That’s become a staple of the sport. It seems the obvious route is to try and seek the immediate rematch, giving him an angle to find some motivation and another chance of resurgence.
The end of the road, who knows? The dust will have to settle and negotiations will be had. Rose will be back in the ring. It seems the most likely option. Will he be back in the hunt for genuine world championships, though? That ship might have sailed.
If nothing else a rematch with Jones would give us some clarification. If another defeat came then that would give a crystal clear indication that he has fulfilled his potential and reached his peak. Whilst the Rose camp can still muster up some controversy claims then they give themselves a beacon of hope.
“I’m not going to stick around to get beaten,” he said. Maybe there’s one more fight to make good on that, but not much more.
